Catch a Falling Star
by alate
Summary: Bounty hunting is slow, so Steph helps Ranger and the Merry Men with a job.
1. Chapter 1

_Sadly, I don't own them, JE does, and I'm not making any money. This isn't related to the song "Catch a Falling Star" at all… It's just something that popped into my head when I heard it. Probably spoilers through TS so be warned. I hope you like it!_

**Catch a Falling Star**

**Chapter 1**

"Ouch," I bit out, fighting back a string of curses as I balanced on one foot and held the other in my hand, waiting for the throbbing in my toe subsided.

That's what I get for feeling ambitious and deciding to get up early, I thought. This is why human beings are not meant to be awake before it is properly light out.

Gingerly setting my injured foot down, I shuffled to the bathroom, despite my urge to crawl back into bed. Flicking on the light, I flung an arm across my eyes, not able to stop the cursing this time. Then, with eyes squinted, I striped out of my t-shirt and panties as I brushed my teeth and started the tap for my shower.

Forty minutes later, I was cursing winter once again. Why, on top of frigid temperatures and dark mornings, did it feel the need to produce static? Giving up the fight with my electric hair, I pulled it into a pony tail and finished dressing in jeans, flannel shirt and CAT boots.

I'm pretty sure I wouldn't hate mornings so much if they didn't hate me first, I decided as I exited my bedroom. This one was being particularly difficult. In the kitchen, I grabbed a Pop-Tart and gave the icing-free edges to Rex, then grabbed my bag. Checking my arsenal, I decided to leave my gun at home. I wasn't off to a good start and I just might shoot someone today.

So, gun safely deposited in my cookie jar, I headed for the parking lot only to have my mood dampen a bit more when my eyes landed on Big Blue. I'd been driving it for a week now, but every night my brain seemed to erase the memory of my adorable Mini going Kaboom.

You'd think I'd remember when I woke up in my apartment seeing as my latest car explosion had triggered the fight with Joe that led to me moving out of his house. Guess my early morning brain just didn't think like that.

Once at the office, I felt myself immediately cheer up when I spotted the box of Boston Crèmes on Connie's desk. Snagging one, I flopped into a chair as I waited for the sugar to hit my blood stream.

"Morning, Connie," I said once I was feeling a bit more human.

"Yeah, yeah," she muttered, not looking up from her nail file.

"What's up?" I asked. Connie's usually a bit more social than that.

"Joyce," she said, jerking her thumb at Vinnie's door.

"Ahhh," I said. I'd be cranky too if I had to deal with that first thing in the morning. "So, any files for me?"

"Nope, no one's skipping bail," she said, waving her hand to indicate her empty desk.

Suddenly, her hand stopped mid wave and her jaw dropped a bit. I heard the door open and shut softly, and I would be willing to bet large amounts of money it wasn't Lula who had just walked in.

"Anything?" I heard Ranger's rich voice ask as a warm hand settled on the base of my neck.

"Nope," squeaked Connie.

"Okay, thanks. Babe, can I talk to you?"

"Uh, sure," I said, turning to look up at him.

"Outside," he said, removing his hand from my neck and stepping away.

Suppressing a shiver as the cool air hit the newly exposed skin, I stood and followed him.

"What's up?" I asked once we were outside.

"Need your help with a job, if you're interested," Ranger said, leaning back against his truck.

"Who, what, when and where?" I asked. I knew I'd do it, I can't tell him no.

"I'm having a team meeting at the office at 9:30. I'll explain everything there, and then you can decide if you want to help."

"Alright," I said, pulling out my phone to check the time. It was 8:37, so I had nearly an hour to kill.

"Wanna go grab some breakfast before the meeting?" Ranger asked.

"Sure," I said, neglecting to mention that I'd already had breakfast… Twice.

"Good," he said, smiling as he opened the truck door he was leaning against and boosted me up to the bench. Guess I'm riding with him.

He drove a couple of blocks towards the office, and I was beginning to think we were heading straight there for a breakfast courtesy of Ella, when he pulled up outside a dinner I'd never noticed.

"It's new," he said at my questioning look. "Tank's been bugging me to try it

"Tank doesn't share your eating habits does he?" I asked just to be safe.

"Only when faced with starvation," Ranger replied, giving me the almost smile.

In the diner, Ranger secured a booth where he could keep his back to the wall and an eye on the door. I sometimes wondered if he ever forgot to be all vigilant and just flopped down in any booth or seat. Somehow, I doubted it.

A waitress brought menus and took our drink orders. Ranger ordered orange juice then shook his head when I ordered chocolate milk. Mid eye-roll, I caught sight of our waitress and grinned as I saw her fanning herself with the pad she'd used to take our orders. I had to give her credit for being calm and cool when right in front of Ranger, though.

Looking over the menu, I saw lots of yummy sounding food, but figured I'd try the omelets. It didn't take me long to select the ham and cheese, so I sat my menu down and Ranger signaled the waitress. He ordered a veggie omelet… figures.

We ate our breakfast in relative silence, but as we finished up, I couldn't contain the curiosity any longer.

"So, what's the job?" I asked, in what I thought was a cajoling voice.

"You'll see in a bit, Babe," he said, doing the almost smile again as he stood and took my hand to help me up.

"Ranger." I whined, I didn't think it would work, but I had to give it a shot.

"Meeting's in fifteen minutes. I promise you won't die of curiosity in that time."

"I might be seriously harmed, maybe even emotionally scarred," I pouted.

"You're tough. You'll be fine," Ranger teased me.

"Meanie," I said, unable to resist sticking my tongue out at him.

"Babe, keep that up and the no poaching rule goes out the window."

"Wouldn't be poaching," I muttered.

"Explain."

"Joe and I are once again experiencing a difference of opinion."

"I thought you two were all 'lovey dovey' since you said those three little words," Ranger said, flicking his eyes to me.

"That's a bit of a stretch, but things were good. Then he went all macho, Italian caveman when the Mini blew."

"Babe," Ranger said, smiling and shaking his head.

"What? He started in with the 'quit bounty hunting' then progressed to 'you can't handle real jobs, so we should get married and you can stay home.' I stormed out when he started in on 'we have to have kids soon anyways since you're not getting younger.' A woman can only take so much."

"Feel better?" Ranger asked when I was done with my little rant. Guess I'd been letting that build…

"Yes actually," I said, inhaling deeply and letting it out.

"Guess this means the poaching rule is gone," Ranger commented speculatively.

I wasn't sure what to say to that. I'd invoked the poaching rule shortly after the Scrog incident. I'd admitted I loved both Joe and Ranger, but had only said the words to Joe. Ranger had made it perfectly clear that he wasn't bending on the relationship issue, so I decided to make a serious go of it with Joe. That meant no more stolen kisses with Ranger. When I told Ranger, he agreed for as long as things were going good with Joe. Looks like it's open season on Stephanie again, I thought, trying to ignore the sudden fluttering in my belly.

"Hmmm," was all the answer I gave Ranger, though.

It was enough. As he parked the truck in the Rangeman garage, he pulled me to himself for a hard, fast kiss then jumped out. It had been awhile since my last Ranger kiss, so I was still sitting there stunned when he opened my door.

"Still curious about the meeting, Babe?" he asked, grinning at me.

"Uh, yeah," I said, snapping myself out of whatever trance I was in and hopping from the truck. It would be too much to hope he didn't see the affect he had on me.

"Let's go then," he said, taking my hand as we headed for the elevator.

Damn, I needed to focus on something other than the tingling where our hands were entwined. Over the last few weeks, I'd been trying to expunge the feelings I had for Ranger, and I thought I'd made progress. I clearly hadn't, since with one kiss, the feelings came flooding back and I was just as confused as before.

We took the elevator to the third floor and Ranger led me to one of the conference rooms. I'd never been on this floor, so I was looking around with curiosity at all we passed. It looked like any other business office, I thought.

In the conference room, I took a chair between Ranger and Bobby and watched as more Rangemen filtered into the room. After a few moments, Tank stood up and everyone grew silent. Obviously everyone was present and accounted for and the meeting was starting. I leaned forward, waiting to find out what this was about.

"We have been contracted to work with the NYPD in apprehending Dane Gerick…" Tank began.

And that's where I zoned out. Dane Gerick, the name sounded very familiar. He was no one from the Burg, because I would never forget anything having to do with Burg gossip, but why does he sound so familiar? College maybe? E.E. Martin? I didn't think so for some reason.

"… eluded law enforcement agents for the last month and has been harassing other members of the cast on a regular basis. Because of that, and the obvious threat level, we are also still contracted to provide security," Tank said, sitting down, obviously finished.

"Any questions?" Ranger asked.

I had a bunch, but I'd wait until later to ask him. He probably knew I'd been dazing out.

"Alright, your assignments are in your folders, so everyone begin preliminary work and we'll meet back here at 1600 hours," Ranger said when no one had questions.

The guys filed out of the room and I turned my attention to the folder I found in front of me. Flipping it open, I found the standard picture and stats on Gerick. His appearance again looked vaguely familiar and it was really beginning to bug me that I couldn't remember where I knew this guy from.

"Deep thoughts, Babe," Ranger said, causing me to lift my head and find we were the only ones left in the room.

"Uhhh, not really."

"So, any questions, Babe?" Ranger asked, now grinning at me.

"Yeah," I admitted on a sigh.

"Thought so."

"First off, where the Hell do I recognize this guy from?" I said. I knew Ranger would have his back story and know any point where it had crossed with mine.

"Remember back when we were kids and there was a TV show called Changing Places?"

"You mean the one where there was a kid and his family moved and each season was him at another school?" I asked, feeling something click.

"Yeah," said Ranger. "Gerick was the kid."

"Wow, Val used to watch that show all the time. He hasn't done anything since that has he?" I asked.

"Nope, and that seems to be the problem. He doesn't seem to be dealing well with being a former child star turned failed actor."

"So what's he wanted for? Drug charges?"

"You weren't paying any attention to Tank were you Babe?"

"If I admit I wasn't will you answer my questions?"

"Sure," Ranger said, then sat and looked at me.

"What?"

"Waiting for the admission that you weren't paying attention."

"Fine. I wasn't paying the least bit of attention. Now tell me."

"Babe," Ranger said smiling, before beginning to speak. "Gerick is originally from New Jersey, did you know that?"

"Nope," I said, I didn't really know anything about him, Val was the one with the crush on him.

"Well, he was doing auditions in Hollywood and kept loosing parts, so he announced that he was returning to Jersey to be closer to his family and maybe take some time and do theatre in New York."

"Uh huh," I said to indicate that I was listening this time.

"In the last season of his 'Changing Places' his character had a girlfriend, played by Violet Johnson. She's no longer acting, but is producing Broadway plays."

"Uh huh," I said again, not liking the sinking feeling I was getting.

"Well, Gerick auditioned for one of her plays and didn't get the part. The experience did rekindle an infatuation he had with Ms. Johnson that bordered on obsession. When he crossed that line recently and began sending threats and harassing her crew, her production company contracted Rangeman to provide security."

"And the NYPD is involved because?"

"A Jane Doe was found two weeks ago and is assumed to be the victim of Gerick based on a letter he sent Ms. Johnson. NYPD is now searching for Gerick, but not having any luck. They know he's still around because he is still delivering threats, he's also sent two more letters indicating that he's killed two additional women. The woman that was found bore a striking resemblance to Ms. Johnson, so Rangeman will continue to provide security and because we were involved already, NYPD has asked that we assist in finding Gerick."

"So she's got a psycho?"

"Looks like it, Babe," Ranger replied.

Nodding, I opened the file again and flipped through it a bit more thoroughly. I found everything Ranger had just told me along with copies of the notes, pictures of the victim and Violet Johnson. I have to admit, I was more than a little relieved when I saw that she was 5'2" with red hair and brown eyes. The last thing I needed was a resemblance to her to attract myself another psycho.

"When do we start?" I asked.

"Thanks, Babe," Ranger said, giving me the half smile. "Probably day after tomorrow. I have a team up there now and they're providing security, but since there's not much going on here the guys and I thought we'd go take care of the apprehension ourselves."

"Bored?" I asked, grinning at him.

"Babe," Ranger replied in a flat enough tone that I knew I'd hit the nail on the head. The guys didn't like it when things got slow like they had been lately.

"I won't tell," I whispered, leaning in closer to him.

"Good," he said back, before turning his head and brushing his lips against mine.

Not good, was my only thought as I felt my belly go all squishy once again. My feelings for Ranger were definitely alive and well and here I was going off with him to New York.

It's not like we're going alone, I argued with myself. The guys would be there and we'd be working. I could handle myself. And it's not like he's really interested in me anyway…

"Babe?"

"Huh?" I said. Must have drifted out.

"Making sure you're still with me."

"Sorry."

"Not a problem. Why don't I drop you off at the office so you can get your car and let the girls know you won't be around? Then you can take care of anything else you need before we leave. I'll call you later with a definite departure time."

"Okay," I said, shaking off my thoughts.

Heading for the elevator, I decided not to worry about my feelings. I'd tried to fight them, but apparently there was nothing I could do about them. I could control myself around Ranger since I had for so long anyway, I thought as I watched the muscles of his back ripple slightly under his tight t-shirt as he walked.

Just as I was reconciling appreciating Ranger's back muscles to myself, I felt my phone vibrate and found I had a text. I saw it was from Manuel and felt myself go a bit pink as I read.

_We have muscles, too. Manuel and Vince._

They must be in the control room. So, I did the most mature thing I could think of. I stuck my tongue out at the nearest camera.

We made it the rest of the way to the garage without incident and with a little prodding from me we climbed into Ranger's Mercedes for the ride to the office. I live that car. The trip was silent as usual, but I was used to it by now. I was even learning to use the time to think. Too bad I was still preoccupied by Ranger.

At the office, I climbed out of the car and headed in. I was very thankful for Lula and Connie's chatter, because I did not want to think about the sudden disappointment that Ranger had only tucked a curl behind my ear and reminded me he'd call before I'd exited the car.

"So, what'd Batman want?" demanded Lula. Apparently Connie had filled her in on me leaving with Ranger earlier.

"He was just telling me about a job," I replied.

"You were gone a bit long for him to tell you about a job," Connie accused.

"It was a full meeting," I explained.

"Oh," they said in unison.

"Sorry to disappoint," I said, laughing.

"What's the job?" asked Lula, not down for long.

"Nothing big," I said. "Just an out of town apprehension in New York."

"You're going out of town with Ranger?" asked Lula in awe.

"An apprehension?" asked Connie at the same time. "Not for us."

"No, Rangeman is working with the NYPD, and that's all I can say since NYPD doesn't want the stuff leaked and you two can't keep a secret."

They looked like they wanted to press me, but when I gave them a Burg glare they shrugged and let it go. They knew they were gossips. I kind of like to think my glare was getting better.

"But you are going out of town with Batman?" Lula said, not able to be sidetracked.

"Yes, but we're working. And the Merry Men will be there too."

"Tank?" asked Lula.

"More than likely," I replied.

"Huh," responded Lula, pulling out her phone. Looks like I found a way to derail her.

"Hey, Baby," she was saying into her phone. "My girl says you're going out of town," pause, "In two days huh?" pause "Dinner sounds great," pause "I'll see you tonight."

When she hung up, she had a huge smile on her face.

"What do you say we hit the mall," Lula said to me. "I got a date tonight and gotta look good enough to keep my man with me until Batman's calling threatening to drag him away."

"Sounds good," I said. "I need to get some stuff for the job anyway." I'd looked through my file and my assignment was pretty vague. From the looks of things I could be doing everything from surveillance to distraction type stuff.

"Damn Skippy!" replied Lula, grabbing her purse and abandoning the massive pile of files behind Connie's desk.

oOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOo

A/N: So, should I go on? Review and let me know!


	2. Chapter 2

_They belong to JE pouts and I'm not making any money… _

_Also, thank you all for reading and for all the great reviews! Please enjoy!_

**Catch a Falling Star**

**Chapter 2**

"No, Mom, I'm not pregnant," I stated for what felt like the hundredth time.

"And you promise you're not eloping with this 'Ranger' character?" she asked.

"I promise. I'm helping him with a job, that's all."

"You'd tell me if you were skipping town for a weekend of sin with the hot bounty hunter, right?" piped up Grandma.

"Yes, Grandma," I said. It's not like it's gonna happen any time soon.

"It'd beat working," she replied, before heading to the living room to fight Dad for the remote.

"What about Joseph?" Mom asked, once we were alone.

"What about him? We're not together."

"Stephanie! You had a fight, that's all. He deserves to know you're going out of town."

It's not like he ever felt the need to tell me when he was leaving, I though. Guess that makes me the better person since I was heading over to his house as soon as I escaped my mother.

"Which is why I have to go now," I replied. "I still need to talk to him and I'm leaving in an hour."

"You can't stay for dinner?"

"Nope. Sorry Mom. I'm just gonna go say bye to Dad and Grandma."

Wandering into the living room, I found a heated dispute over the Weather Channel vs. the Game Show Network. Sighing, I slipped into the war zone, hopping to get out quickly.

"So, I'm heading out," I interrupted.

The fighting stopped and a temporary cease-fire was called so they could both give me a hug and 'goodbye.'

"Have a good trip and be safe, Pumpkin," Dad said. He'd been content with one assurance that I was neither pregnant nor eloping.

"I will."

"Have fun with the hot bounty hunter," Grandma said, before whispering, "You sure you don't want a care package?"

"Yes!"

Taking that as my cue to get out of there, I headed back through the kitchen to say my goodbyes to Mom, and then was out the door. A quick time check showed I had about a half an hour to see Morelli before I had to head back to my apartment, so I pulled away from the curb and started the two minute drive to his house.

"Hey, Cupcake," he answered the door three minutes later.

"Hi, Joe. Can I come in for a minute?"

"Sure. What's up?" We hadn't spoken since our fight and I really hoped he didn't think I was here to make up.

"Just wanted to let you know I'm going out of town for a while."

"Oh? Taking a vacation?"

"No, working," I said, putting of telling him I was working with Ranger. I knew he wasn't going to like that and I didn't want there to be enough time for a full fledged fight before I had to leave.

Running a hand through his hair, he lifted his eyes to mine. "Please tell me you're not doing a job with Ranger."

I just bit my lip. I felt kind of bad, I'd been ready for angry, but he just looked… resigned.

"I'm sorry," was all I could say.

"I know, Cupcake," he replied, wrapping his arms around me and tucking my head under his chin. "We can't keep this up."

"What should we do?" I asked, even though I wasn't sure I wanted the answer.

"I don't know," he said, tightening his arms a bit more.

"I do love you," I whispered.

"And I love you too, but it doesn't seem to be enough."

"No," I sniffed.

"I think we need to be honest now," Joe said, steering us towards the couch. "Cupcake, do you think you'll ever settle down and want a home and kids?"

"Maybe someday," I started, "but I'll never be a Burg wife. I'll still be me, just with the home and kids."

"I want to do the Burg thing," Joe admitted. "I never thought I would, but I do."

"I know. I'm sorry I can't be who you need."

"Me too, Cupcake," he said, holding me against his chest.

I just snuggled in and we stayed like that for the rest of my visit. It was what we needed now that we'd finally come to an end. I was sad, but I had to admit that it felt right, we hadn't been going anywhere for a long time. I really hoped Joe could find someone who he could settle down with and be happy with, even if it wasn't me. As for myself, I had no idea what I wanted for now.

"I have to get going," I said after a while as I sat up.

"Okay, call me once in awhile to let me know you're okay."

"I will."

"You know, this was not how I ever saw us ending," Joe said with a slight smile.

"What, so peacefully?" I countered.

"Yeah," he admitted.

"Well, the upside is we can still be friends," I said, really hoping we could. I did still love him.

"Wouldn't have it any other way, Cupcake," he replied as he opened the door for me. "Just do me a favor and don't run straight to Ranger."

"What?" I asked. What was that supposed to mean? 

"Cupcake," he sighed. "I know you love me, but I saw you when Ranger was shot. You love him too."

"I'm sorry," I said. I really hadn't wanted Joe to find out about that.

"It's not something you can help," he said, hugging me. "I just liked to hope I was the right guy."

"Way to make me feel shitty, Joe," I said, trying to joke.

"Don't Cupcake. I know you can't control it."

"Yeah, I've tried."

"Thanks," he said, giving me another squeeze. "Now you need to get going. Be safe."

"I will. Bye Joe."

"Bye Cupcake."

With that I headed for the Buick and took off for my apartment. My mind was reeling with what had just happened. It was really over. I felt the first tear slip down my cheek as I pulled into my spot beside the dumpster and I just stayed slumped against the steering wheel crying until I heard a knock on my window.

"Babe, what's wrong?" Ranger asked opening my door.

"N-nothing," I sniffed, as I wiped the tears from my face.

"Babe your eyes are all puffy and your steering wheel's soaked," he replied as he took my hand and pulled me from the car.

Sniffing again and wiping at my eyes, I let him. I'd turned the car off and I was getting cold anyway… Now I just had to come up with a way to avoid telling Ranger what was wrong. Somehow, I didn't see that happening.

"Okay, Babe, what's wrong?" Ranger asked once he'd deposited us safely on my couch.

"I went to tell Joe about the job… Wait! We were supposed to be leaving," I said, suddenly realizing Ranger was here to pick me up.

"It's okay, Babe," he reassured me. "Did you and Joe have another fight?"

"No," I said, shaking my head. "We broke up, for good."

"Babe," Ranger said, pulling me to himself, as I cried some more.

"I know we were split up, but this is different. I always thought we'd get back together, even though we're not right for each other. I just can't believe it's over."

"I know, Babe," Ranger said, stroking my hair. "It's hard to admit you don't love someone the right way."

I snuggled into his chest and he let me cry some more before it finally died down to an occasional hiccup. Joe had told me not to run straight to Ranger, but I didn't think this counted. He was just being an amazing friend, and he'd come by to pick me up for the job. Then I remembered again that we were supposed to be leaving.

"Sorry," I said, dragging myself upright.

"It's okay, Babe," he replied, giving me the half smile. "Are you going to be alright?"

"Yeah. So, are we leaving?" I asked, hopping to forget about my crying spree.

"In a minute. Why don't you go to the bathroom and clean up while I get your bags?"

"Okay," I said.

In the bathroom, I almost had a heart attack when I saw my face. My eyes were puffy, my face was blotchy and I had mascara streaks. Waterproof my ass, I thought. Splashing cold water over my face, I rinsed the mascara and applied a new coat. Then, taking a couple deep breaths, I exited the bathroom ready to face the world again.

In my living room, I found Ranger with one of my large suitcases in each hand. Giving him a weak smile, I took a tour of my apartment checking that I hadn't forgotten anything. Everything was off, my fridge was empty of anything that would spoil and Rex was at Mary Lou's. I was ready to go.

In the parking lot, I was surprised to find a Bronco sitting with the guys in it. I hadn't known they'd been waiting. I was glad of it, however, when I climbed into the already warm vehicle and settled into my seat between Lester and Bobby.

"Bomber, what's wrong?" asked Tank, twisting in his seat.

"Nothing," answered Ranger for me and I shot him a thin smile in gratitude. I knew the guys wouldn't take a 'nothing' from me, but if Ranger said it, they'd know it was taken care of.

Ranger climbed into the driver's seat, and we were off. He went into his driving zone and the guys disappeared into their own zones. It takes about an hour and a half to get into New York City from Trenton if you don't get stuck in traffic, I wasn't sure if I could last that long in a silent car.

I made it a total of seven minutes before I was ready to explode. I was tired and had a headache from my crying jag and needed some distraction. Staring at the guys, though, I didn't think I would get it from them. What I wouldn't give to be able to lie down in my thinking position and take a nap… With that thought, I eyes Lester and Bobby once again and decided Lester's shoulder looked pretty comfy, so I leaned to the right and rested against him.

When his only response was to drop his eyes to me, I gave him a small smile before closing my eyes. I was out in seconds.

oOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOo

I felt myself being lifted and made a superhuman effort to open one eye. Once I succeeded at that, I found myself cuddled against Ranger's chest as he carried me away from the Bronco.

"Hmmm?" I eloquently asked.

"We're here, Babe," he said.

"Can walk," I murmured, struggling a bit.

"Okay," Ranger replied, setting me down gently.

Turning, I saw that the Bronco was mostly empty and the guys were carrying the last load of gear and suitcases. It was thoughtful of them to let me sleep, I decided, even thought they'd been ready to carry me inside like our luggage.

"Where are we?" I asked, looking up at what appeared to be an apartment complex.

"Rangeman safe house," Ranger said.

"Safe house?" I asked. I wasn't very fond of safe houses…

"There's no Rangeman New York, Babe, so this is where we'll be staying. It's secure, we'll all fit and there won't be messy questions about some of our luggage and gear."

"Okay," I replied. I guess I was okay with safe houses when I wasn't being forced into them.

"Good," Ranger said, before wrapping an arm around me and leading me inside.

We all climbed onto the elevator and it was a tight fit. As I watched Tank press the button for the sixth floor, I caught sight of the elevator thingy that tells the weight limit. Staring at it, I did some mental math and wondered if we were under 1,500 lbs. The guys were all over 200 and Tank was probably near 300… Add my 130 and all our gear and I feared falling to my death.

"We're good, Babe," Ranger said softly into my ear.

"Stupid ESP," I muttered, earning a smile.

Once we were safely off the elevator and on the sixth floor, I found we exited into a large open living area. To the right was an open kitchen and I could see doorways back a hall. It looked like the entire floor of apartments had been converted into one large 'house.'

"So, Bombshell, what do you think?" Bobby asked, coming behind me.

"You are not going to get me to admit I like the safe house," I said, smiling.

"Damn," he laughed, before disappearing back the hall.

"Come on, Babe," Ranger said. "I'll show you around."

The living area had giant, over-stuffed couches and comfy chairs, a large TV, a shelf full of DVD's and books and a stack of board games. Basically, it was stocked for a long boring stay. The kitchen was the type my mother would dream of with chrome appliances, every utensil you could think of and a well stocked fridge and pantry. Back the hallway, there were about eight bedrooms and three bathrooms. I was in the room beside Ranger and the guys were across the hall. I also got my own bathroom while they shared the other two.

"It's nice," I finally admitted once the tour was over.

"So you won't protest next time I want you to stay in a safe house," Ranger asked grinning.

"Unlikely," I replied.

"Didn't think so."

"It'll make a good bet, though," said Lester coming up behind us.

"What would it take to get you guys to quit betting on me?" I asked.

"Well," Lester said, giving me a teasing up and down look.

"Santos," Ranger growled.

"What, she asked the question," Lester said.

"Babe, I know I said no more stunning my men, but Lester you can stun. In fact, I encourage it."

"Shit," Lester muttered, "I'm gonna go write my will or something."

Once we were alone, I let out a laugh and looked up to see Ranger with a real smile on his face.

"Can I really stun him?"

"Probably you shouldn't. We need him for the job…"

"Okay. Is there anything we need to be doing now?" I asked.

"Not tonight. We have a meeting with the guys who have been up here tomorrow morning."

"I think I'm gonna go get settled in then," I said.

"Alright, Babe, I'll call you for dinner."

"Thanks."

Wandering back the hall I made it to my room and explored a bit. It was a good sized room with a double bed in the middle. It was painted a soft blue and decorated in darker blues and greens. The overall effect was very relaxing, which I figured was a good thing for a safe house.

There was a decent sized closet, and I immediately unpacked all my clothing and shoes and put them away. I made sure that the dress Lula had picked out for me was shoved all the way in the back. I don't know what I was thinking with that one. All I can say is Lula is a bad influence.

That done, I grabbed the bag with my cosmetics and toiletries and headed for my bathroom. It was the smallest of the tree, but it was still good sized and nicer than the bathroom in my apartment. The fact that it wasn't brown and orange easily put it in the lead of that competition. It also had a shower stall with multiple shower heads and a spacious vanity. I wasted no time spreading my stuff all over the vanity and when I was done and stepped back to admire my work I understood why I got my own bathroom. I couldn't see the Merry Men getting ready in the morning amid all this.

I on the other hand may be needing to sneak into Ranger's bathroom to 'borrow' his Bulgari. That would be a downside of not sharing his bathroom.

Once I was done putting my stuff away, I headed back for my room and decided to test out the bed. I stretched out in my thinking position and the bed immediately passed inspection. Safe houses really aren't that bad, I caught myself thinking.

The next think I knew, someone was gently stroking my hair away from the side of my face. Opening my eyes, I found Ranger lying on his side facing me. I'm almost positive he wasn't there when I fell asleep.

"Hey, Babe," he said, when he saw I was awake.

"Hey yourself," I answered in a sleep roughened voice.

"You ready for some dinner?"

"Sure. What're we having?"

"I'm not sure. Bobby cooked," Ranger said.

"Should I be concerned?"

"Not in the least. I probably should, though."

"In that case, let's go."

We got up off the bed and headed for the kitchen where I was assaulted with a wonderful smell. On the table was a plate heaped full of grilled cheese sandwiches and a giant pan of tomato soup. While I was still staring at the plate of my childhood favorite, I saw Bobby exit the kitchen with a pan of tater-tots and a bowl of salad. I assumed the salad was for Ranger.

"Thank God," I heard Ranger say. "I wouldn't last a week eating like you four."

From that comment, I assumed Lester would be joining Bobby, Tank and I in our meal rather than Ranger.

"You should try it. It's good," I said.

"It'll kill you, Babe."

"I like to live on the edge," I teased. I may live on the edge for the Burg, but these guys outdo me by far.

When Bobby sat the tater-tots and salad down he picked up a large spoon and Ranger grabbed my head and covered my ears. I started to protest until I heard the reason. Bobby was banging the spoon on the soup pan and yelling 'dinner.'

"Was that necessary?" Ranger asked once he stopped.

"Probably not," Bobby replied as Tank and Lester wandered into the room.

I'd nearly swear I saw Ranger give him an eye roll before we all sat down if it wasn't so out of character. I nearly forgot about that though when I started eating. It was wonderful. Bobby made better grilled cheese than my mother… not that I'd ever tell her that.

oOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOo

A/N: Please review and let me know what you thought! I love getting feedback and it feeds my muse. Also, I was half way through this chapter when I realized I've only been to New York City once and it was for a trip in high school… so I'll be making this up as I go, but please correct me if I get anything major wrong.


	3. Chapter 3

_I don't own them and I'm not making any money… _

_Thank you all for reading and thanks for all the reviews, please enjoy!_

**Catch a Falling Star**

**Chapter 3**

The next morning, I was forced from bed at an ungodly hour for a meeting with the Rangemen who had been working security and the NYPD. Currently, we were at the NYPD and I was slumped forward on the table as we waited for an investigating officer to retrieve a file.

"Gonna make it, Babe?" Ranger asked.

"No," I said.

After a delicious dinner, Tank had retrieved a couple beers from the fridge and the guys and I had settled in on the couch and chairs in the living room. They'd told stories about their time in the Army and joked around. I'd never been around them when they'd let their guard down like that and it had been a lot of fun to see their more relaxed sides.

Problem was, they could hold a lot more alcohol than me and could function on a lot less sleep. I was beat. I knew we were going over the case, but I wasn't taking anything in. At least this time it wasn't my fault that I couldn't pay attention. They'd just have to fill me in once we'd gone back to the safe house and I'd had a nap.

"Poor Babe," Ranger said, rubbing my back. The contact of his hand was sending tingles down my spine, but I was too tired to deal with Ranger confusion today. I can vaguely remember him putting me to bed last night and I vaguely remember kissing him. And from what I remember, I'm glad the memory is vague.

He'd just started drawing small circles on my back and I was nearing sleep when the lieutenant returned with the file. Damn, now I have to sit up and make the police think I'm paying attention. The guys knew me well enough that I knew I didn't stand a chance of fooling them.

An interminable amount of time later, Ranger stood and shook the lead detective's hand and the guys stood as well. Taking that as a sign that the meeting was finally over, I pulled myself from my chair, relieved to get out of there.

As soon as we climbed into the Bronco I was out like a light. This time on Bobby. Who knew Merry Men made such good pillows?

When I came to, I once again found Ranger lying beside me on the bed. I was pretty sure that I wasn't even here when I fell asleep this time.

"Ready to get up?" he asked.

"Not really," I responded, pulling a pillow over my head.

"You should get up anyway. I need to fill you in on the stuff you missed in the meeting."

"That wasn't my fault."

"I know. That's why I let you sleep."

"Thanks," I said, finally sitting up.

"You're gonna get up?" Ranger asked, giving me a look as he got off the bed.

"Yeah," I grumbled, standing also to prove it.

"Good. Meet me in the living room in five and I'll fill you in."

"Ten," I countered. Five minutes just wasn't enough time to fix myself up after a nap.

"Ten," Ranger agreed.

He left and I rushed into the bathroom to answer Mother Nature's call and tame my hair. Pulling my mass of curls up, I splashed some water on my face then freshened up my mascara. Fifteen minutes later I was headed for the kitchen.

"Babe," Ranger said when I plopped down at the table.

"The case," I said, not feeling like getting teased on my warped sense of time.

"Of course," Ranger replied with a half smile as he flipped open a file. "The major points hit in the meeting were the latest note Ms. Johnson received and the second body that was discovered yesterday. Even though there's no physical evidence yet, NYPD is assuming the woman to be another victim of Gerick. She was killed in the same manner as the first victim and bears the same resemblance to Ms. Johnson.

"Other than that, no leads have been found and Gerick appears to have dropped off the face of the Earth. And besides the notes received by Ms. Johnson and the victims resemblance to her, there is nothing to tie him to the crimes."

"Is that all?" I asked when he was done. That had taken maybe ten minutes and we were in the meeting for an hour.

"Pretty much. The meeting took so long because of all the nonsense from the cops and we had to go over the note and crime scene pictures. They're in your file and you can look at them later."

"Okay," I replied, thinking I'd skip the picture. The last one hadn't been very pleasant.

Looking at the clock on the stove, I saw it was only a little after one. We still had most of our day left and we hadn't really started in on the case at all. I felt like we should be doing something, since we had nothing to go on. I wondered what we would do from here, where we would start. It wasn't often that we had a case like this.

"You want to go meet Ms. Johnson, our target, and talk to her?" Ranger asked, reading my thoughts.

"Sure. That sounds like a good idea," I said. "Just let me go get ready."

"Babe," Ranger said in a mock exasperated voice.

"I'll be quick," I replied, laughing as I headed for my room.

In my room, I did get ready at top speed, knowing that if I didn't hurry Ranger would show up to encourage me to go faster. I pulled on a pair of jeans and a nobly sweater before shaking out my curls and adding another swipe of mascara. Grabbing a pair of boots with three inch heels, I ran from my room and skidded across the kitchen floor to stop right in front of Ranger.

"Good timing, Babe. I was coming in after you."

"I was like two minutes."

"You were pushing ten."

"Which is amazing for a Jersey girl," I felt the need to add.

"Remind me again why I brought you," Ranger laughed, wrapping a steadying arm around me as I wobbled pulling on my boots.

"Can't," I said. "I have no idea why you brought me." With that, I looked up at him, hoping he'd tell me. That was something I'd been wondering about… why I was along.

"Well, things have been slow lately," Ranger said, but didn't pause long enough for me to protest a pity job. "We have no leads and you have instincts that help you just stumble over the answers you need to figure out a case. On top of all that, people trust you and seem to just want to tell you what they know."

"Oh."

"Babe, you need to stop underestimating yourself. You're good. Do you really think I would bring you along if I didn't think you could be useful to the team?"

"I thought I was entertainment," I said, not looking at him as I wandered towards the closet in search of my coat.

"Stephanie," Ranger said, using my full name to get my attention. It worked, I stopped dead, but didn't turn around. I didn't think I could meet his eyes right now. "Please tell me you haven't been holding onto that comment since I said it."

I didn't say anything, just continued to stand frozen in the middle of the room. I jumped slightly when I felt him come up behind me and wrap his arms around me, but instinctively relaxed.

"It was a stupid thing to say, Babe. I'm sorry. I'm just not good with words. I wanted you to know how much you brighten up the job for the guys and me. They like you, and it's not often that that happens."

"Really?" I said, meaning all of what he'd said, not just the end.

"Yeah," he replied, dropping a kiss to my forehead. I knew he was talking about all of it too. "Now are you ready to go hunt down a bad guy?"

"Yeah," I said, giving him a quick squeeze before going back to getting my coat and grabbing his as well.

"Then let's go," he laughed, ushering us into the lift.

We took the lift to the parking garage of the apartment building and Ranger climbed into a shiny, black Mercedes that was parked by the Bronco. How that got there I have no idea, but Ranger has ways.

"Sorry I was so emotional," I said, as we motored out of the garage.

"Part of your charm, Babe," he said, shooting me a 200 Watt smile before slipping into his zone to concentrate on the New York traffic.

oOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOo

Half an hour later we were pulling into a parking garage for a high-rise office building.

"This doesn't look like a theater," I said.

"It's not. Ms. Johnson's office is in this building."

"Oh," was all I could say. It's not like I knew about this theater production stuff.

"She works for one of the larger production companies in New York and they own this office building," Ranger informed me.

"Okay, Mr. Know-it-all, lead the way," I grumbled.

"Babe, I just did some research," he said as we headed for the lift.

"Which I probably should have done too," I replied, feeling like I wasn't pulling my weight.

"Nope, that's my job. Your job is to get Ms. Johnson to talk to you and just be yourself."

"I can do that," I said smiling.

"I know," Ranger told me, pressing a kiss into my hair as the lift dinged open onto the fourth floor of the building.

Walking to the reception area, Ranger spoke with the secretary and was told we could see Ms. Johnson in about fifteen minutes. I was a bit skeptical about this since she didn't even check her appointment book, but stared transfixed at the medium wattage smile Ranger was giving her. I was also a bit unnerved at the sudden urge to zap her with my stun gun…

Settling for a good eye roll, I followed Ranger to take a seat in the waiting area. It looked like most other waiting rooms, but the walls had posters for plays the company must have produced all over them along with signed autographs from what I assumed were famous actors. I didn't see any names I recognized though.

Surprisingly, a little less than ten minutes later, we were being shown back to Ms. Johnson's office. It was back a short hallway, lined with more posters, but the office itself was very professional.

The woman we found behind the desk was also very professional, standing to greet us as we entered the office. She was about 5'4" and looked a lot like the pictures I had seen of her, but in business attire. I was impressed by how she had chosen a soft grey suit that didn't wash out her pale complexion or clash with her flaming red hair. She wasn't what I was expecting as an ex-actress.

"Hi, I'm Violet Johnson and you must be from Rangeman. Please have a seat," she said indicating chairs in front of her desk.

"Thank you and yes," Ranger said as we sat. "I'm Carlos Manoso and this is Stephanie Plum. We'll be working with the NYPD and we'd like to ask you some questions."

"Nice to meet you," she replied, taking Ranger's extended hand and then mine.

"Alright, Ms. Johnson," Ranger began.

"Please, call me Vi or Violet," she interrupted.

With a quick nod, Ranger went on, "Can you tell us when the threats actually began?"

"I'm not sure when I actually began to feel threatened," she said. "Dane auditioned for the play, and I had dinner with him a few times through the audition process since we were old acquaintances, but when he didn't get the part and wasn't seeing me, he started to get creepy."

"Umm," I interjected. "What do you actually do? You were doing auditions; does that mean you're like the director?" I wondered suddenly if he was angry with her for not casting him.

"No. I'm pretty much out of everything related to the actual acting. The only time I'm ever around the set is auditions, when the play is ready to go on and when there's a problem. For auditions, I'm the one in contact with the actors and in charge of lining up auditions, but the director makes the actual decisions."

"Oh. What else do you do?" I asked, genuinely curious now.

"Mostly, I line up shows, make sure we have a venue, organize everyone behind set design, costumes and all that. I'm also responsible for budgeting and advertisement. It was actually one of our ad reps, who's a friend of mine, who recommended Rangeman when we began having trouble," she said.

"Really?" asked Ranger, and if I didn't know better I'd say he was looking apprehensive.

"Yeah, Celia Lawrence. Do you know her?" she asked, causing me to swing me eyes to Ranger.

"She's my sister," Ranger admitted.

I was still curious about Ranger's sisters, and was extremely disappointed when I realized I'd missed the chance to meet then when he was in the hospital. I'd met his mother and father, who were wonderful people, but I was asleep in a chair the first time his sisters had come to visit and he'd apparently been very explicit about them not waking me. The other times they visited were the random moments I wasn't around, like when I'd gone home to get real sleep or shower. I'm pretty sure Ranger had one of the guys organizing it.

"You know, I see the resemblance now," Violet exclaimed.

"So Ceila recommended us," Ranger said, clearly wanting to get back on track. "When did you decide to take the recommendation and get security?"

"I took the recommendation when the harassment to the crew began. They were receiving weird packages, things would go missing, they went a week where they couldn't make it through a rehearsal without the fire alarm going off. Nothing dangerous, it was just holding up production. We always get security for our plays anyway once they open; I was just starting it a little early and stepping up the intensity."

"What about you?" I asked. "When did you go to the police if the creepiness was growing?"

"Umm, I sort of ignored it at first, since he was weird as a kid. When I got the note saying he'd found a replacement for me, but feared he'd have to kill her for being inferior, I took it to the police. They sort of brushed it off, though."

"And now?" I asked.

"They came and interviewed me and my crew and took the previous notes he sent when the first body was found."

"Previous notes?" Ranger asked. We didn't have any other notes before the first threat.

"Yeah, they were harmless mostly. Saying he never forgot me and he always hoped we could work together someday again since we had amazing chemistry. That sort of thing."

"Can you think of anything he said or did that could have given away where he's staying?" I asked. It was a long shot, but we really needed a lead.

"No, sorry. I couldn't help the police either. I don't know him well at all and hadn't seen him since we worked together years ago. When we went out to dinner it got very awkward, because at first we talked about the 'old days' but then he started to just stare at me. He never did tell me what he was into other than he was trying Broadway."

"Did he say anything about why he was trying Broadway and why he was here?" I asked.

"Not really, but I got the impression that he wasn't doing well in Hollywood and when this started I called some friends and found out he hasn't worked in years although he's been trying. He really seemed to want to work with me, thinking if we worked together he would become a star again."

"Did he always seem with it?"

"That was when he seemed most with it," she said, crinkling her brow a bit. "There were other times when he would seem to think we were childhood sweethearts or something. Like we had a relationship when we were working together. I think he may have been slipping in and out of reality, because sometimes when he got like that he would call me Libby. That was my character on Changing Places."

"Did you tell the police that?" Ranger asked.

"No," she said, looking thoughtful. "I didn't really remember until Stephanie asked if he was all with it."

"Was he reverting to the age he was when the show ended?" Ranger asked.

"No, he knew we were adults. It was almost like he took the show ending as another move that separated us and now we had met again. He would go on about what we'd made of our lives since we'd last seen each other and how amazing it was we were both pursuing careers in Broadway. Like it was fate."

"When did you see him last?" I asked.

"Ummm, at the last audition. He'd been making me uncomfortable for awhile, and when he didn't get the part I told him I probably wouldn't be able to see him since I would be really busy with the play. He seemed to take it okay. I got the first note about a replacement two days later."

"Thank you," I said then swung my eyes to Ranger. I couldn't think of anything else to ask today.

"Yes, thank you," Ranger agreed, standing so I flowed his lead.

"It was nice to meet you," Violet said, shaking our hands once again.

"It was nice to meet you also," I said, pulling out a card and jotting our numbers on it. "If you think of anything else, please give us a call."

"Of course," she agreed.

Exiting the office, Ranger slung an arm around my waist as he headed for the lift to go back to the parking garage.

"That went well," he said.

"What? We still have no leads as to where he could be."

"True, but now we know he's about as mentally stable as the usual psycho and you got Violet thinking. Good job, Babe."

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A/N: Please review! I love your feedback, so let me know how I'm doing with a story with a real plot!


	4. Chapter 4

_They're not mine, and I'm not making any money… I want to give a big thanks to everyone for reading. Please enjoy!_

**Catch a Falling Star**

**Chapter 4**

"What next?" I asked once Ranger and I had loaded ourselves back into the car after our interview with Violet Johnson.

"Well, it's about three, so we could head back to the safe house, wait for the guys and regroup, or we could do a little B and E at Gerick's apartment."

"Let's do the B and E," I said. I could tell that was what Ranger wanted to do, and to be honest, I loved watching Ranger do his urban commando stuff.

"Alright," he answered firing up the Mercedes.

"Where exactly are we going?" I suddenly thought to ask. "I thought you said he'd been staying in Jersey."

"He was. His families from Newark and he was staying in Jersey City… It's about half an hour with bad traffic."

"Oh."

After that, we drove in silence for about twenty minutes until we arrived in a run-down section of Jersey City. It didn't look like a bad area, there just didn't appear to be much money. Ranger found the address easily and we pulled up in front of a small apartment building.

Hopping out, we headed inside and quickly found the super's apartment. We knocked, but there was no answer, so we'd just have to let ourselves in without the benefit of a key. Up three floors, we knocked again on the door of apartment 308 and when there was no answer, Ranger quickly picked the locks.

I was curious as to what we'd find since the apartment hadn't been searched yet. There still wasn't enough evidence for the police to get a warrant and when they'd come to question Gerick here, he hadn't been home.

It definitely had the air of a temporary residence and it was apparent no one had been around for awhile. I snooped while Ranger prowled around. There was no mail around and there had been none in his box, so either he had someone picking it up or he wasn't using this as his mailing address. There was no food other than a spoiled carton of left-over Chinese in the fridge and there were no personal items around.

"Babe," Ranger called from the back of the apartment. "Come take a look at this."

Curious, I headed back a dim hall way towards the sound of his voice.

"Ranger," I called, not sure exactly where he was.

"In the bedroom, Babe."

Going forward just a bit more, I turned left thought a half open door. And my jaw hit the ground as soon as I was in the room. Holy shit.

"Holy shit," I voiced out loud.

"Yeah," Ranger agreed.

One of the walls was completely covered in pictures. Mostly they were of Violet but a good number were of the Changing Places cast and Gerick when he was on the show. There was also a section with flyers to a bunch of plays, which I assumed to be plays that Violet produced. Below them was a little semi-shrine, with a picture of Violet and Gerick when they were working together and around it were things like a balled up napkin, a pen… obviously things she'd used and he'd picked up.

"So the creepy factor just went up," I said, going over to stand next to Ranger. I was suddenly feeling really nervous and he made me feel more secure.

"Definitely," Ranger said, pulling me to himself and rubbing up and down my back. "Did you find anything in the rest of the apartment?"

"Not really. There's no personal items and nothing to suggest that he's been here lately or was even staying here."

"Okay, let's poke around a bit more and see if we can find anything."

"Sounds good," I agreed, and began looking through things in the bedroom. I was sufficiently freaked out, and I just felt better not being alone in the apartment right now. It didn't look like Gerick had been around, but that's not to say he wouldn't show up at any time. Definitely better to stick with Ranger.

We didn't find much more in the bedroom and nothing that could point us to where he was actually staying. Looking through the rest of the apartment, we found more nothing. There were no personal items in the bathroom, only things like a half used tube of toothpaste to suggest he had ever been here. It was weird.

"When did he rent the place," I asked Ranger once we'd looked through everything and were standing in the kitchen again.

"About four months ago when he moved back to Jersey."

"Huh," I said. He'd done a good job at cleaning it out, other than the bedroom. It was almost like he couldn't stand to disturb that.

"Let's go talk to the neighbors," Ranger suggested, breaking through my musings.

Heading out into the hall, Ranger locked up after us and we turned to the apartment on the left. Ranger knocked and a few moments later the door was opened by a petite, very pregnant woman with a young child on her hip.

"H-how can I help you?" she asked, staring wide eyed at Ranger. And it wasn't the usual wide eyed look he got from women. I quickly realized she was probably home alone and the large man, dressed all in black was making her nervous, so I stepped forward.

"Hi, I'm Stephanie Plum and this is Carlos Manoso. We're from Rangeman, a security company, and working with the NYPD. We'd like to ask you some questions about your neighbor, Dane Gerick."

"Is that the man to the right?" she asked.

"Yes."

"Alright," she agreed. "Please come in."

When we followed her in, she settled the child in a playpen and we all sat in the living room.

"First off, what's your name?" I asked.

"Melissa Wiseman."

"Okay, Melissa, can you tell us when you last saw Gerick?"

"Umm, probably about a month ago. I never saw much of him, but I thought he'd moved out."

"He's still listed as living here, but we don't think this is where he's staying" I said. "Did you ever talk with him?"

"Only once. Mrs. Ketz, who live across the hall, and I went to welcome him to the building when he first moved in. Everyone is petty friendly here, so we thought we'd introduce ourselves and such, but he just said 'thank you' and shut the door."

"Do you know if he was friendly with anyone in the building?"

"No. He didn't talk to anyone. I'm not sure exactly what it was, but he just made me nervous."

"Thank you Melissa," I said. "If I leave you a card can you call me if you think of anything or if you see him?"

"Of course. Ummm, what are you looking for him for? Is he dangerous?"

"We're looking for him because the police would like to question him concerning a murder case," I said, trying to be vague so I didn't scare her as I handed her the card.

Once in the hall again, Ranger and I knocked on the door across from Melissa, hoping to talk to Mrs, Ketz who'd met Gerick with her, but we didn't get an answer. Next we tried the door across form Gerick's apartment and a young man opened the door. He was about six foot, built like a Rangeman and didn't seem at all nervous with Ranger at his door.

"Yes?" he asked.

"I'm Carlos Manoso and this is Stephanie Plum, we'd like to ask you some questions about your neighbor, Dane Gerick."

"Okay, come on in," he said holding out his hand. "I'm John Wells, by the way."

"Nice to meet you, John," Ranger said, taking his hand, before I did the same.

"So, what's up?" John asked.

"We're working with the NYPD trying to find Gerick and were hoping someone here could help us."

"I'm not sure if I can be any help. When the cops were here looking for him a couple weeks ago I talked to them and didn't have much to tell. I've kept an eye out, but I haven't seen the guy since."

"Did you ever talk to him?" I asked.

"Only when he moved in. I didn't like him much and never really saw him after that."

"What didn't you like about him?"

"He just rubbed me the wrong way. When I told him to feel free to stop in for a beer sometime, he just turned me down and asked what was with the people here and being nosey. I guess Mel and Mrs. Ketz, who live to the right, had gone to see him too."

"Yes, we just spoke with Melissa. She said he made her nervous. Did you feel anything like that?"

"Not personally. I was a Seal until I blew out my knee, so most of the nervous has been driven out of me, but I didn't like him around the hall. Mel's all by herself, so is Mrs. Ketz and another older lady. Once and awhile when I'd see him heading in and out of his apartment he was always giving Mel's door a weird look."

"Shit," I said, suddenly.

"What, Babe?" Ranger asked.

"Mel's got ret hair."

"What's going on?" John asked suddenly. I could see him going into protective, ex-military guy mode and had to fight a smile.

"The police are looking for Gerick as a possible suspect in a murder case. He's known to be stalking a childhood acquaintance and leaving threats. The murdered women bear a resemblance to the woman he's stalking. Melissa would fit his profile," Ranger said.

"Mel?" John choked out.

"Yeah, petite, pale with red hair," I said.

"He hasn't been around, so it should be okay," Ranger said, "But if you could keep an eye on Melissa it wouldn't hurt."

"Definitely. She's a great girl who picked a shitty husband, but he's gone, so I check in on her pretty frequently. I'll just have to start doing so more often," he didn't look at all upset about this, and I had to suppress a smile once again.

"Good," Ranger said. "Here's a card, if you think of anything or see him give us a call."

"Alright," he replied and after another round of hand shakes and some man-nods, we were gone.

We talked to a couple more neighbors, but didn't find much else out. Mostly we got the same story that Gerick was unsocial and no one could pin down what they didn't like about him. I'd never met him, but I'd be willing to bet he's just one of those people who give off a creepy vibe… kinda like Vinne but in a more dangerous way.

Calling it a day, we headed back for the car. Ranger immediately slipped into his zone and I made it about two blocks before I slipped into sleep. I woke up when he cut the engine and we headed upstairs to the safe house.

The guys weren't back yet, so Ranger and I decided to start dinner. Or, Ranger started dinner and I sat on the barstool and watched. I did feel the need to voice my opinion a few times when things started to look too healthy. I only had guys' best interest in mind…

Ranger was making a stir fry, and honestly, it looked like a lot of vegetables, but it smelled wonderful so I'd reserve judgment. Right now, I was supervising the veggie to brown rice ratio and making sure he added some cheese. We couldn't be too health, or my body would go into shock.

"Babe, you need to trust me and get out from under foot," Ranger laughed when I scooted in beside him at the stove.

"Nope, if the guys are forced to eat a bunch of vegetables it will be my fault. Do you want to do that to me?"

"They can always cook for themselves," Ranger said shrugging.

"Huh," I said. I hadn't really thought of that. "Where'd you guys learn to cook?" They didn't strike me as the domestic sort of guys.

"Rangers. We'd be out somewhere and we had to cook or starve. Eventually, we learned to make it tolerable. I'll never forget how astounded my mom was when I came home on leave and made breakfast one morning…"

I just stared at him in shock. Ranger had just answered a question without prodding and actually offered more information than was necessary. I'd expected him to stop at 'Rangers.'

Scooting myself between him and the stove, I pressed a hand to his forehead.

"Babe, what are you doing?" he asked.

"Checking to make sure you're not sick. You just offered personal information when it wasn't completely necessary."

"Babe," Ranger said, looking bemused now and leaning towards me.

I leaned away, suddenly not sure if this flirting and close proximity was a good idea.

"Hot," I yelped out, jerking away from the stove and directly into Ranger's chest. Nope, definitely not a good idea, I though when I realized my lips were pressed against his neck. After that, I just couldn't help myself but leave a soft kiss there...

"Yeah, Babe. Hot," Ranger said, pulling back and looking down at me with dark chocolate eyes.

Before I knew what was happening, I was sitting up on the counter with Ranger standing between my knees and we were locked in a kiss that was definitely hot. I'm not really sure who started it, but it was escalating very fast. Somewhere in the back of my brain, sensible Stephanie was screaming 'no!' but I wasn't listening. Right now I didn't give a damn if this was a bad idea, if I was still getting over Joe, or if Ranger couldn't commit. All I cared about was that Ranger didn't stop what he was doing with his tongue and magical hands.

Suddenly, he did stop though. I was just groaning and trying to drag him back into the kiss when I noticed the door swing open. How he'd heard a key in the lock, I'll never know, but I was glad he did, because moments later the guys came strolling in and I would not have wanted them to see that little scene between us.

"Hey, man, smells great," I heard Bobby call out as the guys trooped in.

"Yeah, when are we eating?" Lester asked.

By that time, they were all over to the kitchen area and I was desperately trying to look like I hadn't just been kissed senseless. From the grins on their faces, I don't think I was pulling it off.

"Uh, I'm gonna go get cleaned up," Tank said, not so discretely grabbing Bobby and Lester by the backs of their shirts and dragging them away with him.

"Sorry about that, Babe," Ranger said when we were alone again.

"It's okay," I said, not meeting his eye as I held a hand to my burning cheeks.

"No, it's not. I should have controlled myself," he replied, in a tight voice. If I didn't know any better, I'd say Batman wasn't too happy with himself.

"I didn't do any better," I said, giving him a soft kiss on the cheek and sliding off the counter. "I'm gonna go hide in my room for a bit."

"Okay, Babe. I'll take care of the guys and call you when we're ready to have dinner."

"Thanks," I whispered, giving him a quick hug before darting off to my room.

Once safely behind my door, I wrapped my arms around my head and bent at the waist. A few deep breaths later, I made it to my bed and flopped into my thinking position. This couldn't be happening. I was supposed to be controlling myself around Ranger, not kissing him senseless! And what had me most worried was that I wasn't worried at all. For once there was virtually no 'Morelli guilt,' only a tiny feeling that I should hold off out of respect for what used to be of our relationship. On top of that, my body was screaming 'go for it,' and I had those annoying feelings of love pulling at my heartstrings.

"He doesn't do relationships," I said firmly to myself. "He sent you back to Morelli. He loves you but it only comes with a condom. He won't do anything stupid like marriage." I was listing every anti-relationship thing Ranger had ever said, and before I knew it, tears were streaming down my face. "Shit," I whimpered.

Rolling out of bed, I cracked open my door and sprinted across the hall to the bathroom. The last thing I needed was anyone to see me crying.

Safely in the bathroom, I bent over the sink and splashed a couple handfuls of cold water on my face. I hadn't really gotten a good cry going, so my eyes hadn't had a chance to get puffy and my face wasn't blotchy… this was just to be safe and to help me calm down. Once I was sure the tears were done, I took a few deep breaths before slipping across the hall again to my room.

I paced for a few minutes, trying not to think anymore. I'd almost forgotten, in the face of my mini-breakdown, what had gotten me started thinking in the first place. Kissing Ranger and the guys seeing us. I felt my face go pink again, but I knew I'd have to face then eventually. I'd just about gathered the courage to head to the kitchen when I heard Ranger calling me.

"Babe, dinner's ready." I took that to mean it was safe to come out.

Another deep breath and I opened the door and wandered towards the kitchen. When I walked in, I found the table set, the guys seated around it and Ranger carrying the bowl or stir fry from the stove.

Sitting down, I shot the guys all a smile and proceeded to act like nothing had happened. I was hoping they'd play along. I was confused enough about Ranger, I didn't need them to add their teasing into the mix. "So, how was everyone's day?" I asked, when no one said anything.

"Pretty good," Tank said. "I'm starting to remember why I don't like the city though. It's too damn crowded." I shot him another smile, grateful that he'd decided to play along.

Right about then, Ranger came back into the dining room and sat a plate of bread on the table before settling himself in the chair next to me. I gave him a smile also, to let him know I was okay. He gave me a searching look in return before reaching out to squeeze my knee under the table. Should have known he'd be able to see that I'd been upset.

He didn't say anything though, and dinner passed pretty uneventfully. When it was over, we all cleaned up then headed for the living area to go over the day. I finally allowed myself to let out a breath of relief when I saw the guys slip into work mode. If they'd let it go this long, everything would be okay… I just needed to remember to control myself from here on out.

oOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOo

A/N: Well, let me know what you thought! This 'bad guy' developing is harder than I realized, and I have a whole new respect for all of you who do it so well! Please let me know if I over-do, under-do, don't have enough plot, etc… I'd greatly appreciate it!


	5. Chapter 5

_They're not mine and I'm not making any money… _

_Thank you for reading! I hope you enjoy!_

**Catch a Falling Star**

**Chapter 5**

Once we were through with dinner, the guys and I headed for the living room to go over what we'd found out during the day. Using my head, I opted for a bottle of water tonight when Tank started offering around bottles of beer. I was after all supposed to be working and probably being functional tomorrow would be a good idea.

Surprisingly, dinner had gone okay, and the guys hadn't said anything about the little scene they had walked in on earlier, but just to be safe, I curled myself into a chair alone. The night before, I'd cuddled into the couch next to Ranger and eventually ended up cuddled into his side. Tonight, I didn't want to incite the guys' teasing and I was honestly very confused about what I was feeling for Ranger. Yeah, love and lust, but why did I suddenly have so little control over it?

"Tank, Lester, what'd you find out?" Ranger asked, interrupting my thoughts.

They had spent the day at the theater working with the Rangemen on site, checking security and interviewing the cast and crew. Hopefully, they'd found something we could use.

"Not much," Tank replied. "None of the cast or crew have seen Gerick around since auditions and no one really _remembers_ him. They recognize a picture, and remember him being there, but no one seems to have interacted with him."

"Figured as much," Ranger said. "How'd the inspection of the security system go?"

"Pretty well," Lester responded this time. "The building owners had a new system installed about two years ago, so it's relatively up to date. There's nothing high-tech, but the cameras are good and cover about 90 percent of the building. I took a computer and hooked into the system so we're receiving their feed. I also tapped into their system so if an alarm is triggered, we'll be alerted."

"You can do that?" I asked.

"Sure," said Lester. "It's just like when we wire any other place and have the feed sent to Rangeman. I just did it through a remote computer so that the set-up's only temporary."

"Oh," I said. I didn't really have a firm grasp on how the whole security system thing worked…

"That part's Lester's job," Ranger said, giving me a smile. I guess I really wasn't used to working with a team or being a 'part' of the team for that matter. It felt good.

"Thanks," I smiled at him.

"It's nothing, Babe," he said, before getting back to business. "Bobby, what'd you find out from talking with the ME?"

"Even more evidence that I either should have stayed in med-school or opted against medic training…"

"That bad, huh?" Lester asked. Bobby usually loved all the gross stuff about bodies and blood and... okay no more thinking about that.

"Yeah. This guy is sick. The women's faces are completely untouched, but almost every other body surface is covered in bruises and lacerations. Cause of death for both was determined to be complications from the beatings. The first woman had broken ribs, one of which punctured her lung and the second woman was so severely bruised she died of shock from the blood collecting under the skin.

"The ME's finding that we'll be most interested in is time of death. The first woman is believed to have lived with the punctured lung for about two days as the lung filled with fluid. If the timeline the ME set up is correct, Ms. Johnson would have received the note that he'd kill the replacement only after the lung had been punctured but before the victim died."

"So he may not have meant to kill them…" I mused to myself.

"Looks that way," Bobby said, nodding.

"And that would mean he really is trying to find a replacement?" I asked.

"Maybe," said Tank. "I'm no profiler, but it looks like he's trying to find a replacement, but hasn't been satisfied with them. I'd also guess that it's only a matter of time until he gives up on the whole idea."

"Should we warn the police or Violet?" I asked, really concerned for her safety. I'd looked at the first woman's picture and the body was beaten black and blue and was all swollen… Gerick really was sick.

"Not yet," Ranger said. "We don't want to worry Violet unnecessarily and the police have a real profiler. Let's wait and see what they come up with. Personally, I think Tank may have it right though."

"You two find anything interesting?" Lester asked then, swiveling his head between Ranger and me.

"Not really," Ranger said. "We met with Violet and it seems as though Gerick thinks they had a relationship in the past. He also seems to think that if he gets 'back' with her, he'll become successful again. She also remembered that he called her by the name of her character on Changing Places a few times, so he may be having trouble separating reality from fiction."

"So we got a loony?" asked Lester.

"Looks that way," Ranger replied.

"That all you two find," asked Tank, getting us back on topic.

"No," I said. "We went to his apartment and found a shrine to Violet and Changing Places, but not much else in the entire place. It was kind of disturbing. We also talked to the neighbors and they all pretty much said he was unsocial and creepy."

After that, I summed up all our talks with the neighbors and everything we'd found out, even though it wasn't much.

"So we have a creepy loon?" Lester asked now.

"You're categorizing the psychos now?" asked Ranger.

"Hey, I can be a profiler like you and Tank, you know," he laughed. "Did you think I was just a pretty face that can make things go 'boom' and run a computer?"

"Of course not," Bobby said. "I never would have accused you of having a pretty face."

"I guess it is more ruggedly handsome," Lester mused.

"Uh, sure," Bobby replied.

We didn't get much else done after that, because Lester and Bobby ended up on the floor in a wrestling match. Tank and Ranger approached on the pretense of breaking them apart and somehow managed to get sucked into it. They honestly looked like a bunch of over-grown little boys. And since it was all in good natured fun, I just sat back and watched them beat each other up, thinking about what Lula and Connie would give to be here now.

oOoOoOoOoOoOoOo

The next morning, I once again awoke to find warm Latino eyes staring into mine. Only this time, it wasn't Ranger.

"Morning, uh, Beautiful," Lester said, giving me a crooked smile and flicking his eyes to my hair.

"What are you doing here?" I mumbled, not really awake. I also had to fight back some feelings of disappointment that it wasn't Ranger waking me and remind myself that Lester was my friend too, so it shouldn't matter which of them was here. It wasn't really working.

"I got put on 'wake up Bombshell duty'," he said.

"You have a 'wake up Bombshell duty'?" I asked, slightly incredulous.

"Yeah, usually Ranger is more than happy to do it," he said, giving me a mischievous grin, "but the NYPD called with a thing and he went to take a look."

"They called with a thing?" I asked. This felt suspiciously like I was getting left out.

"Yeah. I only heard Ranger's side of the conversation, and you know how that sounds. He'll update us when he gets back."

"Huh," I said, sitting up. He'd left the Merry Men out of the loop too.

"Bomber," Lester groaned. "You wanna get me killed?"

Giving him a weird look, I suddenly remembered that I was only wearing a little spaghetti-strap top to sleep in. Oops.

"Sorry," I said, pulling the quilt up around me. "It's not like you had to climb into bed to wake me anyway."

"I thought it would be fun, but you didn't even jump or anything… You must be way too used to waking up like that," he said in a very speculative voice.

"Out," I said, choosing to ignore the comment. "I need to get dressed."

"Fine," he grumbled. "But hurry up. Tank's making waffles and he won't let Bobby and I have any until you're ready for breakfast."

"Waffles?" I asked, perking right up. Few things can really motivate me to get out of bed, but home made waffles is one of them.

"Yeah, so hurry! I'm starving."

"Then get out," I laughed, pointing at the door.

"Oh, yeah," he said, before jumping off the bed. "And Bomber, you have ten minutes. After that, Bobby and I are mutinying, taking the waffles and fleeing to Nova Scotia."

With that he was gone, leaving me laughing as I rushed around grabbing a pair of sweats and a hoodie. Dressed for breakfast, I ran to the bathroom and took care of Mother Nature before running into the kitchen and coming to a sliding stop. I could really get used to these large open spaces and wood floors.

Plopping myself in a chair, I turned expectant eyes on Tank where he stood at the counter. "Bring on the waffles!" I said, shooting him my biggest smile.

"Where's my grouchy, morning-Bombshell?" Tank asked as he sat a large plate of golden waffles and a pitcher of syrup in front of me.

"Didn't you know all you had to do was feed me?" I asked sweetly looking up at him.

"No, I didn't. But out of curiosity, does that by any chance work on Lula too?"

"Not sure," I said as I forked the first bite into my mouth. Wow. I'm in love. "Yes, yes this will work. Feed her these and she may even get up before eleven."

"Does that mean you like them?" Tank asked.

"Can't talk. Must keep eating," I said, taking another bite and smiling as I chewed.

"Can we have our waffles now?" Bobby asked, trying to pout, but not pulling it off.

"Fine," Tanks said, returning to the counter and grabbing two more plates and placing them in front of Bobby and Lester before grabbing one for himself.

Just as I was entering a wonderful, waffle induced state of nirvana, Ranger walked in.

"Waffles?" he asked, quirking an eyebrow. "I'm out working and you four are at home stuffing yourselves."

"You could have taken us along," Lester mumbled around a large mouthful.

"Yeah," Ranger shrugged. "So, where's my plate."

Just at that moment, a shrill beeping came from the kitchen and Tank pointed one large hand towards the sound. "Go get 'em."

I felt my eyes bug out as I watched Ranger walk to the waffle iron and lift the waffles onto a plate. I was further amazed when he carried the plate to the table, and sitting between Tank and I, poured syrup all over them.

"Problem Babe?" he asked, half-smiling at my shocked face.

"You're going to eat that?" I said, staring at his plate.

"This is Tank's Mama's recipe. When he makes waffles, it's occasion for the temple to take a day off." With that, he cut a bite, lifted it to his mouth and proceeded to chew and swallow.

Only after none of us could possibly force another bite did we stop, and for the guys that took awhile. To be honest, Bobby and Lester looked a bit green, but they'd been trying to out eat each other… I'm not sure who won, I think they lost count. Now, Tank, Ranger and I were sitting in the living room waiting for them to finish the dishes so Ranger could give us the update. They'd gotten the job when Tank declared that the cook didn't clean, I'd spouted off about women's lib and our place not being in the kitchen and Ranger had simply said it was good to be the boss.

"Okay you lazy bastards… and Bombshell," Lester said, once he and Bobby joined us and had flopped on the sofa. "Let's get started."

"Alright," Ranger began. "I got a call from the NYPD and didn't think we all needed to go through the entire meeting again. Basically, last night a beat cop responded to a call about a body, it was brought in and is believed to be the third victim."

"And there have been no more death notes after the first three?" Bobby asked.

"Correct," Ranger replied. "And Violet hasn't received any additional notes about him looking for another replacement either."

"So, he may be giving up on the replacement idea," Tank said.

"Looks like," Ranger said. "Oh, and I was talking to the NYPD profiler and they seem to agree with you. Gerick's trying to get back to where he was successful in life and is fixating on Violet as the symbol of that time. The profiler also agreed that this isn't serial killing and the replacement idea will wear out."

"Are thy going to tell Violet?" I asked. I knew I hated it when I was left out of the loop with my psychos.

"Yeah, Babe. The NYPD is contacting her later today and calling her in to update her on the situation."

"Good," I said.

Even as the words were leaving my mouth, Ranger's cell began to ring. He answered it and I felt a slight twinge of my 'Spidey Sense' as the guys call it. I didn't know what was going on, but I knew things were about to pick up.

"Alright. Thank you," Ranger said, before snapping his phone shut.

"What's up?" asked Tank.

"Violet received another threat. Gist is, Gerick is loosing hope on finding a replacement but is going to try one more time. If it doesn't work out, he's going to resume 'pursuing' her.

"Lester, I want you on bodyguard duty. Bobby, go talk to the ME again. See if the new body definitely fits in with the others. Tank, I want you to install a security system in Violet's home… Lester, alert her to that. Steph and I are going to go talk to the police again."

The guys all gave silent nods before disappearing back the hall and into their respective rooms.

"Let's go get suited up," Ranger said, offering me a hand to pull me out of my chair.

Giving him my own silent nod, which brought out a half smile, I followed him back the hall and headed for my room to get ready to go. 'Suited up' in Rangeman speak means black on black with full arsenal. The black on black I did, but when I added my utility belt I stuck to stun gun and pepper spray. I did slip the mini Maglite the guys gotten for me into its spot along with a pair of cuffs.

Back in the main area of the apartment, I found the guys all ready to go and heading out.

"Ready to get going?" Ranger asked me.

"Yep," I said. "You?"

"Babe," was Ranger's only response as he held out my black Rangeman jacket. I just gave him a massive eye roll and took it, of course he was ready.

Down in the garage, we climbed into Broncos, which seemed to be multiplying, and took off in separate directions. Ranger and I were headed in the direction of the police station when his cell chirped again.

"Yo," he answered, putting it on speaker and into the holder on the dash.

"Is this Carlos Manoso?"

"Yes. Can I help you?"

"This is John Well's. We spoke the other day about Gerick."

"Of course," Ranger replied. "Do you remember something or have you seen him?"

"Yeah, he was here. I've been staying with Mel since she's having trouble keeping up with Kayla, her daughter, and Gerick started knocking on the door. He left when I answered and I'm not sure if he's still here. I didn't want to leave Mel alone."

"Stay with her. I'll be there and check it out in about half an hour. Thanks for the tip," Ranger said before ending the call and pressing a speed dial number.

"Yo," Tank's voice sounded in the vehicle.

"Gerick's been spotted at his apartment. Have you started working on the security system yet?"

"Nope."

"Then head for his apartment building. The neighbor didn't know if he's still there, but I'd like to take him if he is."

"Alright. See you in about thirty," Tank said and the call ended.

"Do you think he's still there?" I asked Ranger, as he got us headed towards Gerick's building.

"I don't know, but that's why I called Tank. If he is there, I want to take him down and get this over with. You don't by any chance have your gun tucked away concealed do you?" he asked.

"No. We were going to the police station. I didn't think it was necessary."

"There's one in the consol you can use."

"But…"

"No buts, Babe. He may be in the building and if you want to go in, you will be armed."

"Fine," I said. I knew I should take a gun, but I hated carrying them.

The rest of the trip was silent as Ranger sped along the highway, focused on the job at hand. I was also focusing on job, wondering how I was going to work into whatever strategy Ranger was cooking up. Just as I was trying to remember the actual layout of the building we pulled into the parking lot.

Killing the engine, Ranger got the gun I'd be using out of the console and checked it over. That done, he checked over his own arsenal. Just as he was finishing up, another black Bronco pulled into the parking spot next to us and Tank stepped out.

"We ready to roll?" he asked once Ranger and I had exited our own Bronco.

"Yeah, let's go," Ranger said and we started heading for the building. "Babe, you and I are going to take the elevator and Tank is going to take the stairs. We're going to approach the apartment from separate ends of the hall. When we enter the apartment, Tank is going to take point and you and I will clear rooms once he has the main room done. I want you to stick by me."

"I can do that," I said, nodding my confirmation. I knew that he would need to be focused and having him worrying about me was not what we needed.

"Good," he replied, and we headed in.

oOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOo

A/N: So, what do you think? I hope you liked it!


	6. Chapter 6

_They're not mine, I'm not making any money… Please enjoy!_

**Catch a Falling Star**

**Chapter 6**

As we approached Gerick's apartment I felt a fluttering in my stomach that I attributed to a mixture of nerves and excitement. I could feel the adrenaline coursing through me at the idea of getting him, along with terror when I remembered what he had done to his 'replacements.'

When Tank kicked the door open I jumped and grabbed Ranger's arm, but I managed not to make a sound. Ranger reached out a hand and took mine, giving it a quick squeeze as we waited for the all-clear sign from Tank.

Once we got the all-clear, we entered the apartment with me behind Ranger and cleared the spare room while Tank cleared the bedroom. We didn't find anything and a call from Tank moments later confirmed that he hadn't found anything either. So, holstering our weapons, we headed back into the main room before going over the apartment and checking for changes.

There wasn't much of a difference from our last visit. The spoiled Chinese in the fridge had been thrown out and a coffee cup had been added to the shrine. Other than that, there was no evidence that he had ever been here. There was also no bag or clothing to show that he was coming back.

"Let's go talk to Wells," Ranger suggested, so we all trooped down the hall and knocked on Melissa's door since he'd said that was where he'd be.

"Did you find anything?" Wells asked when he opened the door to us.

"Nothing useful. Just some indication that he'd been there," Ranger answered. "Have you seen him since we talked?"

"No. I've been trying to keep Mel calm. She wanted to go out and I told her about what Gerick's done and how she fits his profile. She really freaked out."

Poor Melissa, I though. This is more than likely her first psycho, since they're not a regular part of most people's lives.

"Can I go talk to her?" I asked after a second.

"Sure. She's in the bedroom resting," Wells said, so I left the guys to go over Special Forces security stuff while I checked on Melissa.

I approached a door, and getting a nod from Wells, I gave a light knock.

"Come in," I heard.

"Hey," I said as I opened the door. "How are you holding up?"

"Not great," she replied, scooting herself up and rubbing her swollen belly. I can't imagine getting stalked and not only having to worry about myself but my child also…

"It will be okay," I said, sitting on the edge of the bed and taking her hand. "You only fit the profile, he hasn't really targeted you yet and you have John here."

"Yeah, he's been so great. I feel bad making him take care of me like this," she sighed.

"You shouldn't worry about it," I said smiling a bit. "He told us he was a Seal and I've spent enough time around those ex-military, tough guys to know they love that stuff."

"Thanks," she said, smiling a bit now also. "Did you find anything?"

"No. We could tell he had been to his apartment, but he wasn't there and there was nothing to indicate he was coming back."

"I have to admit I'm a bit relieved."

"That's understandable."

"Maybe. What I really need is some ice cream. Do you want some?"

"I've never been capable of turning down ice cream," I said smiling.

"Really? I hated it up until about two months ago."

"I can't even begin to imagine that," I said, laughing.

I could tell that she had gone off into the land of denial and decided to just play along since I had enough experience with it to recognize it in some one else. And I definitely knew that breaking through her denial right now wouldn't be a good idea.

Standing up, I offered her a hand as she struggled to pull herself off the bed. I made a mental note to add immobility to my list of reasons not to get pregnant.

Back in the main room of the apartment, Melissa and I had to walk around the guys in order to get to the kitchen. The apartment had an open plan, so they could see exactly what we were doing.

I'd found the ice cream in the freezer while Melissa grabbed bowls and a scoop. As I shut the freezer door and turned towards the counter, I caught Ranger giving me the raised eyebrow look so I sent him a shrug before reaching for the scoop.

Suddenly realizing we'd done ESP, I felt my eyes go wide and turned back to find him watching me with his half grin now. I just gave him a smile of my own before going back to dishing up ice cream and he turned back to his conversation.

"John really seems to like your friends," Melissa said as I handed her a bowl of ice cream and she handed me a spoon.

"They're good guys," I replied looking at them and smiling as we sat at the table.

After that, we started making small talk about anything but Gerick. She told me all about how great John was being, taking care of her and making her feel safe that I had to smile. He's her Ranger. When I asked what was going on between the two of them, she further confirmed it by replying that it's complicated. The only difference between the two of them and Ranger and I was that it was obvious they were crazy about one another…

After we'd chatted a bit more and finished our ice cream, the guys joined us in the kitchen.

"Babe?" Ranger asked. I wasn't exactly sure what that 'Babe' meant, but I was going for 'how's Melissa doing?' and a little 'are you about ready to go?' Since she was going to be okay and I could go whenever, I gave him a little smile.

"So?" Melissa said, interrupting Ranger and my silent dialogue. "What's up?"

"Right now, we don't think there's too big of a threat," John said. "But I'm going to be staying with you a bit longer."

She gave him a look that said she wanted to argue, but then her brow wrinkled as she placed a hand on her belly and shot a look towards another door which I assumed to be to her daughter's room.

"Okay," she said, giving the guys a little nod.

"Good," John replied smiling.

"We're going to resume searching for Gerick," Ranger said then. "You call us if you see him again or think he may be around."

"Okay," Melissa said again, nodding.

After that, we said our goodbyes and left the apartment. That was a let-down, I decided. I'd been expecting to find him still there, make the apprehension and not have to worry about this anymore.

"What next?" I asked Ranger as we climbed into his Mercedes. We still had about half of our day left.

"We're going to go talk to the police as planned," he replied.

During the trip back into New York, I fell asleep. I'd had adrenaline pumping ever since we'd been alerted that Gerick was spotted and I was crashing. On top of that, I had a belly full of ice-cream that was making me sleepy.

"Babe," I heard from far away, but the sound was dragging me back down.

"Ughm?" I mumbled into the seat of the car.

"We're about three blocks from the police station. You need to start waking up."

"Thanks," I said, yawning and sitting up.

I did a little stretch over my head blinked my eyes a couple of times. Once I was sufficiently awake, I flipped open the little mirror in the visor to check my hair and makeup. Not too bad, I decided as I fluffed my curls. Reaching into one of the pouches on my utility belt, I dug out a mascara wand, freshened that up and was ready to go.

Turning my head, I found that Ranger had been watching the entire process in seeming fascination. I just gave him a mini-eye roll as I tossed the mascara back in my belt.

Making our way into the police station, Ranger and I were greeted by the same officer who we had met with previously. After some greetings, he led us back a hallway and into an interrogation room. There must be a standard plan for these places, I decided, because if I didn't know any better I'd think I was in the Trenton PD.

"Mr. Manoso, Ms. Plum, it's good to see you again," said the lead officer once the investigative team was assembled.

"Thank you. I'm sorry we had to cancel our appointments for this morning," Ranger said. "We were responding to a tip concerning Gerick."

"That's quite alright. Did you find anything out?"

"Not really," Ranger answered. "Only that he had been in the building and was no longer there."

"Damn," muttered one of the detectives.

"What did you want to tell us?" Ranger asked, refocusing the meeting.

"Of course," said the lead detective standing and bringing a slip of paper to sit in front of Ranger and me. "This is a photocopy of the latest note."

Skimming it, I got the gist and lifted my eyes to watch Ranger as he read it very carefully. Maybe I'd gotten too many psycho notes, but I could tell the tone of it pretty quickly.

"What do you think," one of the officers asked once Ranger had lifted his eyes as well.

"He's sick of trying the replacements and is going to refocus on Violet," I said. That was the summed up version of the note. He hadn't been very fuzzy in his meaning, so I didn't see where the confusion was coming from.

"We think he may be trying to mislead Violet, try to make her come to him on her own," a detective said.

"I agree with Stephanie," said Ranger. "He has followed through with everything in the other notes, except for his threats to kill a replacement since it appears they were already dead or mortally wounded when the threats were delivered. I think that was him taking advantage of a situation. Now he seems to merely be telling Ms. Johnson how he feels and how he plans to proceed."

They then began debating different stuff dealing with the inner working of criminal minds and I just zoned out. I wasn't following the conversation and I'd already formed my opinion. I didn't see why Ranger was here debating when he said he agreed with me. Oh well…

"We'll let you know if there are any further updates," I heard the lead detective saying and snapped back to reality. That sounded like the meeting could be over.

"Thank you, we'll be in touch," Ranger replied and then put a hand on my shoulder and steered me out of the room.

Once we were in the parking lot and climbing in the car, he turned to look at me. I had a slight feeling I may be in trouble for not paying attention or participating in the meeting.

"So, what are you feeling, Babe?" he asked.

"Umm, about what? I wasn't paying attention."

"I figured, but what are you feeling about this latest note?"

"He means what he's saying. No more replacements and he's going to begin perusing Violet. Probably by sending gifts, more notes, that sort of thing."

"I agree."

"Then why did we stay so long while the cops argued that he meant something different?"

"Mainly because right now, Rangeman is working for them and it wouldn't be good to walk out of a meeting. Also, it's good to see what it is that they're doing."

"Oh. I forgot we were technically working for them right now."

"That's okay, Babe," Ranger said, reaching over and tucking a curl behind my ear.

When he touched me this time, I felt a bolt of electricity between us. It wasn't there earlier in the station, but suddenly trapped in the confines of the Mercedes, I was very conscious of my feelings for Ranger. Stomping them down, I focused on the job.

"Where are we going next?" I asked, praying for some diversion.

"How about we go out for dinner?" Ranger asked.

"What about the guys?" I countered. I wasn't sure if I was up to dinner alone with Ranger.

"Like I said before, they can cook."

"We're not dressed for dinner out," I said, indicating our work clothes.

"We'll find somewhere casual. I'm sure we could find you a pizza place…"

"Okay," I said, giving in… I could do this. I think.

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A/N: Let me know what you thought! I'm sorry it's short, but my muse has completely abandoned me to a massive case of writer's block… Leave some reviews though and maybe I'll be inspired again!


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